Anxious

The first floor of our home is almost bare. Rugs have been rolled up and moved out as has the furniture.

With each  item that leaves the house, Cooper and Otis grow more anxious. Considering their background, this is not surprising. Coop's family moved away and left him chained in the yard with no food or water. Oti's family had a foreclosure and he was dropped at the pound.

I try to give the dogs extra treats and hugs to reassure them that we are not abandoning them. However, they both look at me with doubtful eyes. Their life experience has taught them that nothing lasts forever.

Now, when I head out of a room, both dogs are on my heels. If I go outside, Coop begins to bark an anxious and desperate call.

Can you hear me now?

I was in the office, spending another night on the phone with Japan, when Coop wandered in. Otis was downstairs with Jeff.

Coop stretched out near my chair. Every few minutes, I would hear thump, thump, thump. Coop was wagging his tail and demanding to be petted. I leaned over gave him a pat and everything was quiet. 10 minutes later, thump, thump, thump.  This went on for an hour.

I looked at Coop, stretched out and content, wanting affection and thought time really can heal some wounds.

Thief

Every afternoon, after Carol walks Cooper and Otis, they get a snack. I left 4 milkbones and Carol's check on the counter and headed upstairs to get ready for work.

When it was time to leave, I noticed that Oti did not race downstairs as he usually does. I entered the kitchen and saw that Carol's check was damp and the treats were gone!

I then noticed Oti in the hallway, with his head hung down. It was obvious who stole the milkbones. I guess I should be thankful that he didn't eat the check too.

Getting ready

Work on the house should begin next week. Furniture is being moved, photos and breakables are being boxed up.

After construction completes in 6 weeks, the real fun will start for Jeff and I. We are going to do all the painting ourselves!

I like onions too

It seems that Oti also has an attraction to onions.

Cooper and Otis were on the back deck soaking up the sunshine. When I looked out, I saw Oti's head in the onion planter. Unlike Cooper who likes to dig, Oti was eating the dirt!

I yelled at Oti to stop before he got sick. I sighed, prayed for patience and laughed when Oti wandered over with dirt all over his face.

Foxes, Foxes Everywhere

Jeff took Coop and Otis out in the back yard and I heard them both begin to bark. Next came a sound like a cat yipping but louder and sharper.

Jeff came in and said the fox was near the shed and when the dogs began to bark, the fox barked back and then ran off.

A few hours later, the dogs began to howl at the door. I yelled at Coop and Oti to be quiet, but they did not stop. I looked out and did not see anything on the front lawn. However, near the pond was the fox, just sitting and enjoying the scenery.

At night, I can hear the fox barking in the woods that border our yard. I wonder if the fox den is nearby.

Finally

Three years ago we planted a tree peony. I was so excited at that time, with visions of our little peony becoming a large tree loaded with flowers.

Unfortunately, the peony has struggled and never flowered. Jeff built a snow cover to protect this fragile tree during the winter, but even that did not help.

This spring, the peony produced a lot of leaves and one single flower. I kept my fingers crossed and made sure Coop and Oti did not get close to it.

Finally, the bud opened and the flower is beautiful. I hope it is not 3 years before we see another one.

Entrysets

Now that we are getting a new front door, we need a new lockset. We looked at Klaff's which carries Baldwin, but did not find anything we loved.

We saw an Emtek lockset that we both liked. After 20 years of brass hardware, we are changing to oiled bronze. I think this will be a better match with the existing exterior lights.

Watching

Every morning when I leave for work, Otis races upstairs and watches out the bedroom window. All I can see is the top of his head as I drive off.

Sweet Rocket

Thanks to Dot F, our mystery plant has been identified. It is Sweet Rocket (Hesperis Matronalis).

This plant supposedly has a very sweet fragrance,  but I did not notice it. I will have to give it a sniff tomorrow.

Part II - What is it?

The plant/weed in our garden has started to flower. I think it is phlox.

Entry Doors

I have always wanted a wooden front door. However, several contractors said a wood door is not the best option, if the door will be exposed to direct sun. Also, when it is extremely cold outside and warm inside, this can stress the door.

Steel doors were recommended. However, we already have one that I hate so I refused to consider this.

Fiberglass is another option. I have seen fiberglass doors at Home Depot and they did not impress me. I was told that there are much nicer fiberglass doors, so off we went to WindowRama.

Walking in, I saw a Jeld-wen fiberglass mahogany entry door. This door was gorgeous and I thought, I could live with that. When I heard the price was $5K, I realized this was too pricey.

It turns out that mahogany doors are the most expensive. Doesn't that figure !

We found this door by Therma-Tru that we liked and will provide more light into the foyer.

You make me smile

I love this picture, because Coop and Oti look happy.

Why the smiles and rapt attention? Because they know there is a treat in my hand.

Contractor

I am always concerned about hiring a contractor to work on the house. You never know how good a tradesman will be. You can check references, but the contractor does not include unhappy customers on this list.

One of Jeff's associates owns a woodworking and construction company. Steve told Jeff he would usually not consider a project like ours. His preference is for custom cabinetry and woodworking. However, with a slow economy and a payroll to meet, Steve is willing to bid on the project.

I asked Jeff if hiring a friend was a good idea. Will you still be friends when the project is finished ? Jeff said he prefers to have someone he trusts work in our home. I can't argue with that.

Amazing Dunk

A new door ?

Pulling into the driveway, I looked at our home and tried to imagine it with new windows. I saw two things that made me wince.

1 - The stairs and stoop are an eyesore. Replacing them is an extremely expensive and time consuming project. Not much we can do about this one.

2 - Our 40 year old metal door. This door is ugly and has low energy efficiency. No light comes thru the door which makes the foyer dark.

When Jeff got home, I suggested replacing the door. We are currently discussing adding this item to our renovation.

Onion Lover

You may recall that last week Cooper dug out our onion planter. After that, I refused to let Coop back outside, to protect the bulbs.

It was another beautiful day and Coop sat crying by the back door. I looked into his big sad eyes and relented. As I opened the door, I said you better not dig! I think Coop stuck out his marble tongue as he raced out.

I checked on him 5 minutes later and once again, there were onions and dirt everywhere. I cleaned up the mess and blocked his access to the onion pot. I then went back inside.

I looked out and he was now digging in ANOTHER flower pot. I called Cooper inside and vowed "never again"!

What Price Publicity

Rick Green of the Hartford Courant brings up a very interesting case where a blogger refused to provide content to the Washington Post for free.

More windows ?

Jeff has never liked the sliding door in our dining room. Yesterday, he said, if we are replacing the windows on this side of the house, let's replace the sliding door.

After thinking about this proposal, we have decided to remove the door and have a window installed.

It seems our small project is taking on a life of its own.

Gardenia

My gardenia is finally flowering. This is a small miracle. Ever since I received the plant at Easter, it has been losing leaves.

I read that gardenias are fussy. They like sun, but not direct sun. They should be kept moist but not wet and prefer acidic soil. It seems that quite often these plants do not thrive in a home. I'm trying, but am not sure what the outcome will be.